Psychology Glossary

Obedience

Obedience occurs when you change your opinions, judgments, or actions because someone in a position of authority told you to. The key aspect to note about obedience is that just because you have changed in some way, it does not mean that you now agree with the change. For example, if you are a democratic senator, and the president came to you and demanded that you vote for a something that you were not in favor, and you did go ahead and vote the way the president said, you would be obeying (or displaying obedient behavior). However, this does not mean that you now agree with the way you voted or what you voted for....only that you did what you were told to do.